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“Won’t an Alaska cruise be like seeing the B.C. coast from the ferry, only colder?” asked my warm-weather loving husband.

“Shouldn’t we spend our honeymoon going somewhere more different, more interesting, more exotic?”

His opinion changed a few weeks later when we came “face to face” with the Hubbard Glacier.

Well sort of.

My face is about 15 centimetres across and 22 centimetres high.

Hubbard Glacier’s face is 11.26 kilometres across, and 106 metres high. From the deck of the recently renovated Celebrity Millennium — one of the ships that uses Vancouver as its summer home port — we tried to grasp the sheer size, scope and scale of North America’s largest tidewater glacier.

And we both agreed that time in Alaska is something every Vancouverite should take advantage of. After all, for many of us, getting there is as easy as hopping on the SkyTrain to Canada Place, from where you can catch any number of boats.

We intentionally chose a one-way cruise (we flew to Anchorage, and sailed home), as we wanted to experience the Alaska “interior” in addition to seeing the ports, which are mostly along the state’s “panhandle.”

From feeling like our float plane wing might scrape the face of Denali to the unexpected magic of Ketchikan’s bear sanctuary, an Alaska cruise and the ports it offers truly make for a different call of the wild every day.

Prior to the sailing, I researched excursion options for each port to ensure we didn’t repeat.

Many of these experiences are pricey, but they’re worth it, so save ahead.

Few cruise ships actually go to Anchorage, a sprawling mess of a city. Instead, they use the ports of two tiny towns, Whittier and Seward, both reachable by car or rail. But flying into Anchorage a couple of days before your cruise departure allows you to go flightseeing to the highest point in North America: 6,196 metres-high Denali (a.k.a. Mount McKinley).

There is no guarantee the mountain will show itself; it’s a moody one, often shrouded in clouds.

During the flight toward the mountains, reports from other pilots were encouraging.

Our pilot chose an approach above the 58 km-long Kahiltna Glacier, allowing us to see the distinct markings of a glacier’s slow flow, as we steadily climbed toward the clouds. And suddenly, as we soared around 2,743 metres, the clouds parted allowing clear views of the entire mountain faces and summits of Denali and several other nearby peaks.

Seeing just one of these peaks from this angle would have been awesome ($385/person, flyrusts.com).

After a four-hour morning ride on the famed Alaska Railroad ($79/adult, alaskarailroad.com) from Anchorage to Seward, we checked in with Celebrity, and then took a cruise of a different kind: Tandem sea kayaking.

If you’re like me and have previously only tried this in False Creek, the waters of Resurrection Bay will seem daunting.

But the guides of Sunny Cove Kayaks will train you and put you at ease. If you’re in the front seat, make sure your back seat paddler (husband, in my case) paddles!

Suddenly, you’re floating along at sea level with Bear Mountain lording above you and Godwin Glacier visible across the bay.

If you’re as lucky as we were, the water will be right for you to paddle gently into an active salmon spawning stream. Later in the day, as we sailed through Resurrection Bay on the Millennium, I felt a special connection to this paradise.

At Hubbard Glacier the fascination of sailing through “bergie bits” of ice into Disenchantment Bay is plenty enchanting.

On Millennium, a lecturer provided frequent commentary about what we were seeing — size of the glacier, how glaciers work, and all that.

We stayed nearly a mile back, which still felt incredibly close when the glacier started repeated calving. The massive chunks of ice create a three-part show: You see it, then hear its boom, then a few minutes later its gentle waves reach your ship.

Compared to Glacier Bay, relatively few ships include Hubbard, so if experiencing this monster is important, make sure yours does.

As the largest Alaskan port on most Alaska cruises, the capital city of Juneau presents many options, starting with a mountaintop sightseeing tram that greets you right at the pier — the views from its top are sweeping. This port also has a great reputation for whale watching, and a few hours on the jet boat with Dolphin Tours delivered multiple orca sightings along with spectacular views of the area’s scenery ($110/person, dolphintours.com).

Back at the pier, resist the cheap-o temptation to dine on the ship, and find your way to Tracy’s King Crab Shack to chow on the “best legs in town.” I closed my eyes and imagined TV’s Deadliest Catch guys catching the king crab who gave his leg for the very shareable Combo #1 ($35, kingcrabshack.com).

Skagway holds special interest for Canadian passengers: The only Alaska shore destination from which you can realistically cross the border.

Many ships have a long visit there. We enjoyed an entertaining day trip on the historic, narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Railway.

A ride on this circa 1898 engineering marvel teaches you tons about Canadian the Klondike gold rush — the reason the railway was built — as the train slowly climbs 873 metres through breathtaking scenery over 32 kilometres of track, eventually crossing just into Canada before reversing the route ($115/adult, wpyr.com). Back in town, a silly Klondike theatre performance rounds out the historic fun ($22/adult, thedaysof98show.com).

You don’t expect a theme park in coastal Alaska — especially one owned by a local Natives — but that’s essentially what the smart band of Tlingit people have created from the ruins of the once-booming fish cannery at Hoonah.

By branding it Icy Strait Point, the tribe turned the buildings into a museum, restaurants and theatre, and added various forest excursions and one of the world’s longest and highest zip lines, they’ve creatively managed to get many cruise ships to visit.

The zip line is an OMG experience — I nearly lost my glasses and camera during the 1,524 metre-long, 396 metre-drop ride which reaches speeds of 100 km/hr. (About$130/adult, must book via cruise line, icystraitpoint.com).

My husband grew up in Prince Rupert, so he thought he knew what nearby Ketchikan would be like. Wrong! This rainy, seaside village is postcard-perfect, with art galleries tucked into colourful buildings.

Just outside town, the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary is the show-stopper.

Due to a running salmon stream, the four-hectare, privately-owned reserve on the edge of the wilderness is a favourite spot for many black bears and cubs, and a walking tour of this forest is a study in teddy-bear magic blended with a bit of human terror as you realize there’s nothing between you and the bears.

The guides know how to safely manage these forest walks for both you and the bears ($199/adult includes town tour and transfers, alaskarainforest.com). Back in town, prepare for one of the best seafood meals of your life at the Alaska Chef’s Table — a backroom of Alaska Fish House overlooking the harbour serves as the haven for a multi-course meal of goodies pulled from the water your cruise ship is sailing through.

Cruising Alaska exceeded our expectations.

So much, in fact, that we’re taking another Alaska cruise this August to celebrate our anniversary.

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